Builder who stole plant machinery and used company money to pay for Audi ordered to repay £190,000

4th December 2025 Commercial Credit Management |

A builder who stole almost £85,000 in plant machinery and used company funds to pay for his high-performance car will go to jail if he does not repay more than £190,000 in the next three months. Vasile Hrusca used more than £67,000 from his own failing company in 2019 to pay off the remaining balance on…

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Mortgage lending returns to growth

4th December 2025 Consumer Lending | #mortgage lending

UK Finance has released its latest Household Finance Review, which showed that mortgage lending activity returned to growth in Quarter 3 (Q3), following a quieter second quarter caused by many transactions having been brought forward ahead of Stamp Duty changes in April. Refinancing also increased, with volumes up nearly 50 per cent year‑on‑year as more…

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FCA brings forward motor finance complaints deadline

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it will lift the pause on the handling of motor finance complaints on 31st May 2026, rather than 31st July 2026 as originally consulted on, to ensure consumers receive fair and timely outcomes. The regulator says that this timeframe enables the regulator to finalise and begin implementing…

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FCA launches new AI testing initiative

4th December 2025 Consumer Lending | #AI testing

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced it is working with major firms to test Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a safe place to better understand the potential benefits and risks.  The AI Live Testing initiative, the first of its kind in the financial sector, has been set up to help firms that are ready to use…

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Lloyds injects £5m into fraud prevention scheme

3rd December 2025 Consumer Lending | #fraud

Lloyds Banking Group has announced that it has extended its pioneering fraud prevention scheme, reinforcing an unwavering commitment to protecting people from the harms of fraud. The industry-first initiative, launched in 2021, will have seen £15 million of frozen criminal funds seized, then invested in innovative UK fraud prevention and victim support projects. The scheme…

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One in three SMEs taking on more credit to pay for insurance

SMEs are borrowing more to pay for credit on their insurance, according to new research from Premium Credit. The research, which monitors insurance buying trends, found that one in three SMEs (33%) who use credit to pay for insurance have borrowed more this year than in the previous year. The average amount borrowed was £1,600,…

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IE Hub launches new partnership with two water companies

3rd December 2025 Company News |

IE Hub has announced new partnerships. with Bristol Water and Wessex Water. The partnership will mean water customers looking for financial help will be directed to IE Hub to fill out their budget information. If they need further advice they will be signposted to National Debtline (NDL), a trusted provider of free, independent and expert…

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Bill reform could save struggling households £950 a year

As people across the country battle an unrelenting living standards crisis, Citizens Advice has revealed reforming bill support across essential markets, including energy and water, could save eligible households a staggering £950 a year. That’s the equivalent of £79 a month, which amounts to an income boost of almost 6% for low-income households. Citizens Advice’s…

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Kingsley Napley appoints Restructuring & Insolvency Partner

2nd December 2025 Appointments |

Kingsley Napley has announced that it has appointed Tristan Cox-Chung as a Partner in its restructuring & insolvency team. Cox-Chung joins from Clyde & Co where he spent the last 8 years, latterly as a Legal Director. Previously he has worked for Penningtons Manches Cooper and DMH Stallard. Cox-Chung specialises in both contentious and non-contentious…

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Mortgage borrowing falls to £4.3bn in October

Latest Bank of England data has shown that mortgage debt fell back to £4.3 billion in October, after a rise to £5.2 billion in September.. The data shows that gross lending slightly decreased in October, to £24.5bn from £24.8bn, with gross repayments increasing by £1.5 billion to £22.1 billion in October. Net mortgage approvals for…

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Director gets maximum ban after falsifying bank statements to secure £150,000 loan

A music producer who falsified bank statements to convince a finance provider to lend his company £150,000 and fabricated invoices to HMRC has been disqualified for the maximum term of 15 years. Felix Milton dramatically misrepresented the financial position of his company, The Nameless Ltd, by millions of pounds in obtaining the loan in the autumn of 2021. Earlier that year, the company secured…

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14% of households are worried about debt

2nd December 2025 Arrears and Recoveries | #debt

Only 14% of households are worried about debt, but fewer than one in five (19%) are classed as resilient when it comes to their use of it, according to research by the HL Savings & Resilience Barometer. The data also showed that across the board, almost half (46%) of debt is used for consumption rather…

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Director confidence hits records lows

The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained at a near record low of -73 in November in the run-up to the Budget – unchanged from October. In our snap poll directly after the Budget, the index rose one point to -72. Business leader confidence…

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